In the night of Venice, there are no doubts. In the starred night, lovers can meet, no matter what, who or where... These were my thoughts when I had just arrived in the city; it seemed to me every dark street held a romantic story and every portal had been built just to hide lovers. I, for some reason, felt attracted to these ideas and never failed to cultivate them in my mind. As a result, they grew stronger until I was...

It was still dark out when I woke up. Sherry was asleep next to me. I lay there looking up at the ceiling dreading my meeting with Sherry’s father. The thought of getting fired pounded at me. I wanted to keep my apprenticeship and I didn’t want to leave Sherry. What would I do if he said, “You’re fired! I warned you to stay away from my daughter.” The thought terrified me. I decided to get up, go to the farm and do the mo...

Sherry was quiet at lunch, but she told John how well I did on the tractor and how much we got done. Mary had made a delicious vegetable soup served with her crusty bread. Sherry told her parents she was going to visit someone named Jenny and probably wouldn't be home tonight. She glanced over at me after she said that, then got up and left the room. I looked at her as she walked away, muttering to myself, Damn, I'm addic...

After Sherry left my cabin, I turned out the light and lay on my bed thinking about what happened in the last two days. When I became an apprentice to learn farming, I didn’t expect I would meet anyone like Sherry and was amazed how suddenly my life had changed. I wasn't sure what Sherry meant that her mom was on her side. Mary had told me that John fired other apprenticeships for being around Sherry. Despite what Sherry...

"That should do it. Time check," Belinda wiped sweat from her brow with her t-shirt as she braced her entrenching tool against the entrance of the newly constructed "bunker-in-a-bag."  Unless you were part Mountain Goat, the winding ridgeline trail was the only drivable and walkable unbroken overland route from town to our base. Prior to SkyFire, arrays of remote sensors and wireless cameras guarded the pathway to the Soc...

"Thank you, what’s the deal?" I asked as I took the offered towel from Sheila’s hands and fluff-dried my thinning mane. Hair loss among men is a myth. It’s not so much that our locks leave as that they change location. The stuff that had lived on my head now grew out of my ears. "Jen thinks the ionosphere has settled enough for shortwave. At her suggestion, I’ve decided it time we start a twenty-four-seven radio watch.  Y...

The day after the hurricane the waves were huge at Brighton Beach.  The Russian part of the population had defied the emergency evacuation order and now crossed the yellow police tape to have a look. One person stepped out of the crowd, let his robe drop, and strode proudly naked to take the plunge.  Boris rode the breakers up and down, past the jetty, accompanied by roaring applause from the appreciative group remaining...

She watched him in the mirror behind the bar. He'd been looking at her for the past ten minutes. Dark suit, light shirt, cuff links, and handsome. Just like hundreds of men before him. When he stood and began to walk towards her, she knew he was going to hit on her. She wasn't here at the Prohibition Bar at the Foshay Hotel to be picked up. She just wanted a quiet drink to herself, time to think, and a roomful of noise ar...

"With all due respect, do we have any idea how ridiculous we look?" I stepped over the long picnic bench next to the community dining table as I stood to speak. My rear end protested. After several long hours of note taking, my fanny was in no mood for a new session. My flat ass had a bad case of meeting butt. My hand was cramped, and after a day of biking thru the mountains, I hurt in places the sun didn't shine. "This d...

Ten hours and two diversionary loops off the trail and we haven’t shaken the four Hybrids that are tracking us - one man and three women. They're good, no doubt, and even with Lainey’s seemingly unshakable belief that I’m some kind of a superhero, she’s beginning to sense my concern. As a hunter, I’m hardly a match for a Hybrid at my very best and our shortage of quality victuals as of late has left me less than ready for...

"Super glue? Really?" I chuckled as I focused my field glasses on the bonded band of mutually masturbating men crab-walking westward."Your punishment is diabolical," I shook my head in puzzled amazement.  "Intruders were killed in the past for less, so why the sudden mercy?"  "Not compassion. Karma. What goes around, comes around." Sheila trained her spyglass on the retreating men."They might make town by sundown. If they...

She typed the text and sent the selfie. “If ya got it, flaunt it!” The shoulder straps of her deeply plunged, split-front, fit-and-flare black dress were off her shoulders; her breasts perched outside, nipples erect. She’d debated between a long strand of pearls or several gold necklaces in different lengths around her neck. She decided to wear all of them. An intentional fashion faux pas. The photo showed pillows behind...

I guess you could say I come from a broken home. To say my family was not typical of American values would be the understatement of the year. We have no values. Most of us are either in prison or just haven't been caught yet. Because I come from a very large family, that's a lot of people who shouldn't be amongst the rest of society. Disfunction was the name of the game. There was no one to teach us right from wrong, good...